The Culprit of the Apocowlypse Found: Sweet Potato

Remember the story about the 200 cows that dropped dead in the middle of Wisconsin? Well, you can blame the “apocowlypse” to this unlikely culprit: sweet potato.

Investigators from the University of Wisconsin have determined that the animals were killed by a poison found in spoiled sweet potatoes that were part of the cattle’s feed.

“It is likely that a mycotoxin from moldy sweet potato was a major factor in the disease and deaths of these steers,” said Peter Vanderloo, associate director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.